Cage of Gold
by NocturnalHunter
Summary: As he was caught by the Western Branch, he was offered am opportunity, he could hardly refuse in this situation. Although he expected to never be accepted by humans as an equal, he was here now , a devil walking amongst humans and his prey. (Contains OCs, plays parallel to the GE storyline and to my other story, Loss of Faith)
1. Choosing the Chains

Grayish brown eyes wandered over the letters on the tattered paper as his pen moved forward, forming sentences to tales which would land - just like many things before - in the dustbin. The man slowly titled his head to the side and sighed deeply before he placed his pen carefully aside on his metal desk, right next to the paper.

Then he folded his hands before him, his eyes narrowing for a second.

"Is there something you need of me?"

"Your accent and pronunciation is still horrible."

The warm and soft voice of a woman rang through his ears and he smirked at her mocking tone. A soft chuckle escaped him as he closed his eyes but still refused to turn around and greet his visitor face to face.

There was no need to show such person who had the gall to mock him any courtesy. He heard her steps, waltzing around this small room unaware that she had entered the den of a demon in human skin. She did visit him quite often in the last couple of days.

It could have be weeks.

He didn't really know since they didn't give him a clock or a window which cribbed his sense of time.

"You only gave me a couple of months to learn a language which is completely new to me and I hadn't had the time to practice my skills with other people..."

He let out a sigh, his eyes following the moving shadow on the wall now. The sound of her clothes shifting on her body and sound her breathing pattern changing was growing loud and annoying with each second she just stood there.

"Or should I rather say, I didn't have the opportunity?"

She was the only visitor. The guards didn't talk. They just ignored or didn't understand him. In the end, either way was fine since he wasn't keen on conduct a conversation with people who he didn't deem as 'informative' or 'interesting'.

This woman, slightly younger than himself, with shoulder long raven hair, was the only one who did continue to pester him although he had tried to send her away.

She didn't pick his interest as she was shallow and not of his taste. Her personality didn't stir any curiosity in him either.

"You know that I wasn't the one who put you in this cage."

The man chuckled again and ran his hand through his brown hair. Their conversation was repeating itself like a broken record and it was growing to bore him even more. He knew why she was here.

"I never said that but I am not wrong when I say that you try to put me into a larger one in exchange."

His remark turned dry and sharp without losing his amused tone.

He knew her plans and way of thinking very well to this point as well as this cage he was sitting in. The guards won't pose a serious threat to him and the security in itself was lacking. The only reason why he was still here, was simply because he saw no reason to break out.

"Don't get me wrong." The man continued. "I should consider myself lucky to be saved by one of your units or else...I maybe would have died in..." He paused, moving his fingers as he searched for the words in his mind.

"About a week, I would say. Either by aragami, starvation or thirst. Details doesn't matter, really..."

He heard her moving again, her heels clicking against the ground in a steady rhythm and her shadow was moving with her.

She was getting closer.

"Saved you?" Her voice carried a surprised tone. "I recall that I read something about you saving one of the unit from being devoured in my report."

"Which, in the end, only brought me to be captured like a mere criminal."

"You were hurt."

The weakness of his argument almost made him groan but he tried to be patient.

"…Well…At least I get food and have a roof over my head. I even have a bed. That's what I call luxury."

To puncture his statement, he stretched his arms and stifled a yawn.

"So now, please state your business. Idle chatter is great but I am growing tired of it."

"...Did...you consider my offer?"

This time he finally turned to her, leaning back on his chair and smiling gently at his visitor. His hands rested folded on his lap as his eyes looked at her.

"I would be lying if I said I wasn't intrigued but…Why do I get such a generous offer?"

"You speak awfully polite and polished for a street rat." She pointed out which made him only smirk tiredly.

"Does it not please you? You should be used to this kind of treatment, _Director_."

Her eyes flashed up but her expression remained stoic. He knew she had noticed the small insult hidden in his words and tone.

"It's just surprising, that's all."

His following silence and mustering eyes seemed to irritate her. Her fists clenched for a moment. That woman tried to put up a facade of professionalism in front of him, although he still read her like an open book.

In the end he would have to thank her inexperience and her burning ambition.

This was not an offer to pay back that he had rescued someone. It was just a fancy way for a more sinister way of recruitment. Both knew, he had nowhere to go and it would be foolish to decline the offer. And there she stood in all her haughty glory like a savior in his dire situation.

Through her generous offer she wanted to bind him into her servitude.

She wanted him as her personal loyal pet, disregarding his past and motives. Just as she put it: He was just a street rat.

"I have to inform you...If you accept, there is no turning back."

He shot her a smile and said in a sweet, playful tone. "Don't worry about that."

The man slowly stood up, looking down to her. Even in his mangled form, which he gained from days without food, she still seemed to be intimidated by him.

"Are you sure that you want to help a person you don't know?"

"It..." She cleared her throat and smiled. "It would be a waste of your abilities and you saved another human even when it meant almost certain death for you."

Something flickered in his eyes as a pleased smile moved over his features.

"...Just be careful to hold the reins, Director."


	2. Among Humans

A little...light-hearted short introduction...little crack...Urgh, I don't know how to describe this sort of humor. Everyone is free to ask questions about characters in this and my other story, by the way.

Please, enjoy.

* * *

Their meeting was a week ago. Seven days of being passed around from person to person, room to room until they finally confirmed that he was, indeed, capable to join their petty little army. His gaze moved over the huge hall, watching those people chatting vividly with each other and moving to one place to another, disappearing only for more people to emerge out of the deeps of this place.

"Hey."

He didn't stir.

"Hey, are you deaf?"

This time he shifted his head to three people who stood before his seat. Judging by their appearance and the bracelet on their wrists, they were supposedly his...comrades in arms. One in front of him crossed his arms before his chest and an ill-omened smirk crossed his features.

"This is our place where you are sitting at."

There was a haughty tone in his voice. Gray brown eyes narrowed for a second, but decided that this little fish wasn't worth his time and so, he just continued to ignore him.

"Maybe he doesn't understand our language."

He tried not to smile or gave any indication that he had heard him as he started to talk slow and loud and underlined each of his words with overly expressive gestures. Even when this kid was uninteresting, it was quite entertaining to see him trying to mock him for seemingly not "understanding his language" and demonstrate to his two minions how stupid he must be for not accomplishing that feat. He closed his eyes, suppressing the temptation to simply tell him the truth. This kid should dig his grave a little deeper first.

And, more importantly, entertain him a little more. He almost forgot that not all humans were incredibly uptight to the point of being just stiff and boring even when teased. It seemed, some people didn't even need his active "assistance" to provoke them into doing something so stupid and that was a phenomenon which he hadn't seen in years. This world or the world he had known before, just killed those kind of humans too fast, much to his dismay and loss of entertainment.

Unfortunately someone decided to interrupt this amusing display. "That is enough. Be nice to our newbie, Alex." Another young man, around eighteen years and with light brown hair approached them. He smiled. The expression in his green-brown eyes was so open, clear and downright trusting as if he had looked into the eyes of a puppy. A naive humanoid puppy. "He has just finished his tests. And..." "Then you should fucking teach him how to speak our language.", the other kid growled.

The newcomer lifted one of his eyebrows. "He doesn't...I thought...well..." The man in question just decided staying quiet, curious what this man would do. When one was stupid enough to actually believe that he can't understand a word although it had to be quite evident that he can, considering that he had to answer tests which were definitely not in Japanese.

"I know a little bit Japanese." This situation just took a turn to the better, yet a little turn to the worse at the same time. On the one hand, he couldn't believe that to people fell for the same simple hoax, on the other...the mess of...he couldn't even describe or identify what this guy was trying to say finally earned them a chuckled out of him.

"Please stop...whatever you are talking about or my ears are going to bleed." Everyone blinked. "What the hell?! You can understand us?" The one - Alex as he remembered correctly - exclaimed enraged. "Of course." "Are you kidding me? You just..." "Well, you never actually _asked_ if I understand you and I considered your...mimics as highly entertaining, so I didn't dare to interrupt you. It gave me an interesting insight at your...mental capabilities." Seemingly surprised at these words Alex was silent for a second and scratched his hand and mumbled a confused "Thank you." which made his smile only grew wider.

_Ah...an interesting insight, indeed._

"And to your...ability of speaking Japanese..." He looked at him and the other young man offered his name with a warm smile. "Just call me Claus." "Well then, Claus. Just...**don't**." Claus laughed nervously. "That bad?" "I couldn't really decipher what you said, but I think it was a mix between a death threat and really bad joke about my parents." The young man flinched a little bit. "Ah! I'm really sorry about that...Uh...what's your name?"

"Hiro." Klaus blinked, saying nothing at first which caused the other one frowning a little bit confused. Did this name sound so strange? Or did it have a laughable meaning in this language? He didn't consider this when he picked it. "So...you are not just a newcomer but also the new one in my team.", the young man beamed, before he opened his arms and smacked one hand into the face of Alex who was standing behind him in the process and who then started to curse colorfully while holding his bleeding nose.

And he continued to stand there in this position, making Hiro slowly raising an eyebrow.

"May I ask what you are doing?" "A welcome-to-the-team hug." The older one opened his mouth slowly and closed it without making a sound. This Claus had to be joking or this had to be some kind of inside joke he wasn't introduced to yet. Before he could even point out the ridiculousness of this gesture, someone took the courtesy of throwing a pin board at his head, making him tumble to the side.

"What fucking kind of a Leader are you?! We were waiting for you at the briefing room for a goddamn hour!" Another boy with blond hair and around Klaus' age, albeit a bit shorter than both of them, stormed to them. "You better have a good goddamn reason for not showing up or else..." This new...dare to say...Leader used the opportunity and hug the newcomer whose head was then squeezed between chest and arms, muffling his protest. "Cool down, Nero." Claus petted his head and messed with his hair while the boy's language turned even more colorful and his attempts to get out even more desperate

"L-Leader! You are suffocating him!" A tiny woman with curled brown hair approached the two and tried her very best to separate them and to his surprise, even managed to do so. As soon as the boy was out of his grip, he gasped for air and then got a hold of the necktie of Claus, pulling him down to him. "Are you fucking insane, you hug-loving freak? You could have killed me!" "Ah come on, it was just a little cold down hug, Nero." "My name _is __**not**_ _Nero_!"

Meanwhile Hiro just rubbed the bridge of his nose in small circles. Another wish in his life that may have backfired completely. He asked for entertainment and he got it. For the price of his brain cells which suddenly seemed tempted to commit suicide. He had known that this offer had a little hitch somewhere, but this wasn't something he expected. "Fate...has an amusing idea of purgatory and torture." He mumbled under his breath in his native language and accidentally shifted the focus of this...Unit or whatever they may be, onto him.

"Sorry, I totally forgot about you. Guys, that is Chiro, our new New Type God Eater." Claus seemed to practically ignore the fact that the little one tried to strangle him with his necktie and Alex who was still cursing in the background. Hiro sighed, deciding to simply play along. "My name is Hiro, not Chiro.", he corrected him, only to earn a snort from "Nero". "Better get used to it, he isn't good with names." "I would have never guessed..." The man stood up.

"So then..._Leader_, any missions?" "Yeah before that..." Hiro's smile turned cold as his Leader seemed to go for second attempt in hugging him. "If you try, I promise you that the only thing you will hug is the ground." Claus crossed his arms before his chest. "Hey, respect your superior." "And you should respect your elders." "Elders? How old are you?" "If I remember exactly... twenty four." "Wow...You are one damn old..:" Hiro chuckled. "Finish that sentence, Nero or whatever your name is, and you will certainly regret it."

"Yeah? Like I would be scared of such a scarecrow like you." "Tempt the Devil and you might get him, kid." "Who are you calling kid?!" Just to annoy him further, Hiro switched the language, knowing fully well he wouldn't understand a thing. "What temper...Teasing you will be such fun." "What the hell did you say about me?!"

He shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing much. Should we get going now? I have nothing against a little walk outside." Claus started to laugh. "A little walk? Are you sure that you are already ready for some Aragami slaying? I mean, you can take it slow, you know?" An eyebrow rose slowly on Hiro's face. "Why? Where my test results that unsatisfactory?" "No, no, not at all! But... Well, the Director told me that you were hospitalized for a very long time, so..." The man just looked at him and titled his head. It was true that his wounds had been taking care of, but they weren't that severe to bind him to a bed. Then a smirk flickered shortly over his features.

_That sly little vixen._

"It was really nothing to be worried about." He paused, considered this possibility given to him by his new superior, he didn't even consider. He was a blank sheet and he could be as creative as he liked in building a story around himself. "The only thing that remains are a few holes in my memory. Such things like what actually happened or why I landed here..." "So, you are an amnesiac?" "A mild case, I would say." "...That almost sounds like a joke. An amnesiac, a pyromaniac and a..." "Who is a pyromaniac, you hug loving freak?"

"N-Nero! Stop strangling our Leader! He is turning blue already!" "Just let me get over with it, Hannah! I have put up with his stupidity long enough!"

Hiro just stood here, watching how the struggle unfolded in front of him and shaking his head with a deep sigh. "...Humans..." Then a giggle attracted his attention and looked at the woman who was responsible for this misery. He returned her smile.

_Just wait, vixen. I will get my revenge for this..._

* * *

I promise the next chapters will be longer as soon the plot really starts to roll. Just a reminder: Don't be fooled by the...(Can I even dare to describe this as such)...comedy. It may be getting really dark later on.


	3. Playing Roles

So...chapter two of Cage of Gold. Not many words to say, just enjoy the chapter.

* * *

Many names littered the page before him, yet just one caught his attention now.

_Hiro_

He looked at it, studied the letters before a deep sigh tore through his throat. His fingertips flipped through the empty pages still left in that tattered book in his hand. On the last side, there were words craved into the leather cover.

_We are alone. We are one. We are sin. We are salvation._

An old contract, signed long ago by so many people. Humans he knew, humans who had died, fellow kin he had worked with and yet he was sitting here now, alone. His eyes focused over one name which was placed under the phrase in particular.

_Belphegor_

The only one of them from whom he knew for certain that she was gone. Shot in the head. The bullet just had missed himself by a hair's breadth. Maybe this bullet was even meant for him, meant to end his life once and for all, but it was Belph who had died that day.

His finger trailed over the scar on his cheek which had grown faint over the last few days, caught up in the memory of this one day, trying to remember more details, maybe a hint that he had missed before. Was he the last one? Were there more? Where were they now? It would be troublesome for those humans if he didn't find them quickly. He smirked.

_So many questions...so little information..._

Suddenly a sound forced him back to reality and he turned around in his seat, seeing how his new Leader stood in the door with a gentle smile on his features. "Ah there you are!" Hiro sighed. And there he thought the lock would be sufficient to keep this annoyance at bay. Still, he returned the smile although it lacked the warmth of the other.

"Do you need my assistance?" "What? No, just looking what you are doing. I mean, you are practically locking yourself away after the missions." Hiro eyed the door before his gaze wandered back to him. "I guess that isn't a option anymore." His superior laughed nervously and scratched his head. "D-don't worry I will pay for the damage..." He paused as he saw the book in the other one's hand. "What were you reading?"

The older man sighed, placing it on the desk and stood up. "If you are so curious...It's my diary." "Your diary?" "Yeah...I think." Claus stuffed his hands into his pocket and repeated his words again while frowning. "You think?" "I had it with me as the rescue team found my tattered body. So I think it belongs to me." "And do you remember something?" In that moment he wanted to laugh.

_**Everything.**_

"It's like reading a book of some man I don't know." He was still the amnesiac. The man who had no idea who he was and what was going on around him. "Then are you really sure it is yours?"

Hiro flipped through the pages and showing him a picture of Hiro himself. He looked younger, without the scars in his face, eyes halfway closed and a sly smirk across his face. There was a reddish brown fingerprint on the bottom of the paper, looking like dried in blood.

"Wow, that's pretty good..." Claus commented as his glance switched between the picture and Hiro which shrugged his shoulders. "Even if it isn't mine, it has something to do with me." "So you have been wracking your brain over your past the whole time?" The older man didn't answer nor did he deny. The whole thing of him being amnesic was a lie which was more or less forced onto him, yet he had been mauling over the past although driven by other reasons.

Claus sighed deeply and petted comrade's shoulder slightly. "Look...I really don't know how this feels like...Not knowing who you are that is, but you are a new man now. Just make new memories and let the past go." The older man almost bit the inside of his cheek to prevent of just telling this human to get lost and leave him be. Knowing his new leader, this would only encourage him to pester him more and then an _accident_ could happen.

_It would be definitely annoying to clean the carpet...And get rid of the corpse._

He was a patient man. He tolerated those humans as good as he could and tried to adapt, but it was exhausting for his body and his mind when those people indirectly seemed to ask him to be killed. Not that they already did a good job by themselves when they rush into the fray of Aragami without even _thinking_ that this could possibly end fatal. There never had been a strategy or remotely a plan when they go on missions. Just kill-on-sight.

He was surprised that the kill count of rookies in this team wasn't any higher. Then again, he was informed that this team was relatively new. Hiro sighed. "Maybe I have a family, maybe I have someone...anyone in this world. Wouldn't it be cruel for them if I just forgot them and didn't even try to remember?" He chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. "I have got the feeling that when you ignore the past, things could get...troublesome."

"You really think so?" "I don't expect you to understand me. After all, you are quite lucky..." "What?" Hiro smirked. "Coming from a relatively wealthy family with parents, an older brother, a younger sister...Why did you become a God Eater of all things when you had so many other possibilities?" There was no spite in his words, just honest curiosity.

But even then he could see in Claus' face that he slightly grazed a subject which he didn't like at all. The minor flinch in his features was enough for him to tell, although he tried to cover it up with a fake laugh. "The reason is not very complicated. Helping people, you know. Simple as that." Yet these words spoke truth.

And this truth, sickened Hiro to the very bone. His smile twitched slightly. "Is that so?"

He then cleared my throat. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry into your personal affairs...I just went through the files and..." "No! No need to apologize for that. I mean...It's perfectly understandable. You don't know anybody here and I guess...we aren't the most normal people in here, so..." Claus made a pause, eyeing the book in his hands. "By the way, do you want to come eat breakfast with us?" "Just give me a moment." "Sure. And..." "No, I'm not going to hug you." "Awww, come on." "No."

* * *

The meal with the group was lively and loud. Hiro did his best to ignore the commotion and eat his meal which was essentially a small mountain of different fruits he had yet to try while he watched Nero trying to strangle and kill his Leader again. Hannah, the only female of the group, sat beside him, sighed deeply while playing with the food on her plate. She never ate much and was the most quiet out of them.

He nibbled on the apple in his hand, relishing the fresh sweet and slightly sour taste. "They don't seem to like each other much.", he noted, making the girl flinch. "I-It's just a phase." "I don't know about you but I don't really thing strangulating people can be called _a phase_." In his mind he imagined other people of his past in the same situation and began to chuckle amused. "_Definitely_ not."

"T-That is not what I meant...It is more...a love-hate relationship?" "So, they are...what do you call it? A couple?" Hannah's face grew deep red and suddenly both males stopped with...whatever they were doing. "We are _**not a**_ _**couple**_!", both shouted in union, making him laugh. "Well, at least you have at least an agreement on that. Although such things go always hand in hand with denial." "What are you implying, old man?!" "Call me an old man again and you might regret it." "Oh yeah?!"

Hiro's half opened eyes gazed at him and his smirk turned devilish in every sense of the word. "Go ahead and try." "Wow, calm down you two." "I'm perfectly calm, Leader. You should have your little hotblooded kid more under control." "P-Please, don't fight." They looked at the girl who had begun to shiver and tear up which caught Nero completely off guard. He became nervous "W-we are not fighting!"

The other man just sighed, petted her head lightly. "If we were really fighting, I doubt he would be still standing. I'm just teasing him." "Yeah, you heard him..." Nero paused. "Wait..." Hiro chuckled. "It amusing how slow you people are sometimes. But if you really have the need to beat me up to prove a point...We have a training room for this." His smirk grew. "Just ask. I always like a sparring partner."

How he always twisted a "fight" into a seemingly friendly offer. To tell the truth, this offer was more beneficial for him, since he started to feel a certain unrest. Being held in a cage for weeks and now again, bound by people who were convinced that he had to take it easy. Little did they know that he was a hunter, a beast by nature. A thing he had to hide now, yet could not deny.

And it was scratching its claws against the surface of his mind, eager to hunt, to kill. He looked at those people, talking to each other while he stayed quiet and continued to eat.

_Who would have guessed? This quietness makes me restless..._

His hand wandered to his covered throat, rubbing it slightly. "Hey, Hiro..." He felt something poke his side and he turned his gaze to the girl. "A-are you alright?" "I'm fine. Just a little lost in thought." It was irritating to be worried about by complete strangers to him. Yes, he played the poor amnesiac who just was recovering, but still that it would work so _perfectly_ was irritating. He couldn't really sense distrust directed towards him.

_This is almost __**too**__ easy._

After he finished his lunch, he stood up and wanted to walk back to his room, but Claus halted him. "If you need anything, you can always talk to me, alright?" Hiro's eyes narrowed as he looked at him, but he smiled. "Don't forget to pay the broken lock." In the background Nero let out a deep sigh. "_Don't_ tell me you run around, breaking into rooms again, Claus."

"R-really, I can explain!" The oldest man just snickered. At least it wouldn't get too boring.

* * *

Just one hour later, Hiro found himself in the office of the director again. It was almost a daily occurrence that the woman called for him and he didn't see a reason to deny the order. He straightened his posture, looking down at the young woman and waited for her finish the file she was working on. As she set down her pen on the next file, he spoke. "You called for me?"

Her body froze at the sound of this voice and her head shot up. There was a moment of silence as she blinked a few times in an irritated manner, before she pulled down her glasses and sighed. "...It's just you..." One of his thin eyebrows rose at this statement yet he decided not to question it and let her continue. "Why didn't you knock?"

"Oh, I did. In fact, I waited ten minutes outside...waiting for your response." She looked at him, searching for a sign that he was lying, but gave up just a few seconds later. "Then I apologize. I didn't hear you." A chuckle rumbled through the man's chest. "I guess as much, dear Director." He paused. "So what did you call me for?" "Just checking if you are doing good." "You mean...with my new comrades?" His slender fingers traced over the back of his neck, rubbing the stiff muscles in small circles and letting out a deep sigh.

"...To sum up my impression in one word, I would say...exhausting." Amused that woman smiled, leaning back on her seat. "That bad?" "They rush in without considering the situation. No offense, but I have seen death seeker and suicidal persons in battles who were clearly more subtle in their doing than them. That said, I'm fairly surprised that these...people...still are alive and didn't die on their first mission."

"Says the newcomer." "I might be a newcomer to this line of work, but I seem to have one skill which they lack." "That would be?" "Common sense, Director." The woman started to laugh. "Common sense? We found you in the middle of Aragami infested land and you fought one of those on your own. _Without_ a God Arc." Hiro's smile widened."I did well, didn't I? Besides...I said that I have common sense, but not that I'm completely sane by normal standards."

He paused, crossing his arms before his chest. "Just to make my point clear. I don't really care when they die." That blunt statement made her blink. "Nor will I do anything to prevent it if it threatens my own survival." "My, you really hate it if you are shoved into a team." "In fact, no. I just grew tired of saving humans who try to commit suicide. If they want to die, then I will let them." "Even if it is your own team?"

"Dear Mrs. Claire, didn't I tell you that you should be more careful when you hire people you know nothing about? I'm not really a friend of humans. Yes, I'm under my leader's and your command, but that doesn't changes the way I'm thinking." "Then I simply order you to protect them."

The smirk on his features grew until he started to laugh. "Oh, how _absolutely_ cruel you are to me..." He didn't even try to hide the mocking tone in his words.

_And how unbelievable green you are behind your ears..._

"But fine. I already thought it would be an annoyance if somebody died, but that is the job of the Leader, isn't it?" "Claus is still new in his position and I thought...you would - with your abilities - support him finding his place." "You gave the position to a kid who barely knows a thing in this world? To be a leader is not a thing you can give to people. They are made." "He has talent and I'm positive that he can manage..."

"And what do I get out of this?" Her smile grew. She was pleased that he considered the offer. "You told me about a mercenary group...and other people who got in their grasp. What if I tell you that I have information about those other people?" Now she was speaking his language. A deal and one he could hardly deny at that.

"Hmmm...Interesting. But I will warn you, I can't do miracles nor will I take responsibility of what might happen. Being a leader isn't easy." "I can't really ask for more." "Then we have a deal, I guess. Although I'm more than curious why you try to force him into this position." She opened her mouth to protest, but he continued with a shrug.

"Oh well, it wouldn't be fun if you just tell me. Just keep your promise. And I will keep the deal." Suddenly this annoying person of a Leader had picked his interest a little more than he should have.

* * *

A truely lying bastard...But now time for useless information:

Although he isn't picky when it comes to eating, Hiro favors fruits over normal meals. And he eats. A lot. (If he is in a bad mood, just give him an apple. Then he might not kill you. Maybe)

He always keeps a tiny diary or book with him and writes things down if he has time. He wasn't the only one who used it.

Until next time,

NocturnalHunter


	4. Dancing Shadow

And...again a chapter to Mammon's story. Less action, more character-study. Boring, I know. xD But I promise that things are going down sooner than someone might expect and it won't be pretty.

On with the chapter...

* * *

Hiro set alone on the bench in the main hall, looking at nothing in particular and simply lost himself in his thoughts for once, far away from the room in which a certain someone broke in at a regular basis. At this time of the night, he was probably the only one awake, but just to make sure nobody busted into his little world again, he decided to switch his place. He never had a rhythm in his sleeping circles, nor was his sense of time clearly working again. He simply slept when he felt the need to, not because the clock or the daytime dictated him to take a break.

Yet this wasn't the only reason. There was an even more irritating one why he couldn't find any rest at this time of night. He closed his eyes and listened to his surroundings. It was quiet. Maybe the occasional rattle of the pipes in this buildings here and there, but this absent of life was irritating and made him nervous. Where was the darkness where his kin crawled and lurked through the shadows? The sounds of moving people, trying to be quiet, the footsteps echoing against pavement and mud? The growls of worse things to come?

He looked at his hand which was placed on the metal before him and he smirked faintly. Just in a few days, his body and instincts would get used to this too, just like welding this huge weapon in battle and be face to face with those creatures which had been the only thing he had feared and dreaded. Now they were just like any other animal. Big? Yes. Aggressive? Definitely and deadly, but not "un-killable" anymore.

"...Lady Fate is interesting in her ways.", he muttered to himself before he looked at the file laying next to his hand. Ever since he got it, he had studied the data it held, soaking up every tiny detail in those lines and memorized them. It was more than he hoped and yet it wasn't nearly enough for him to get the whole picture of the situation in which he was now in.

And this thought alone irked him more than anything else.

This was a world, he still knew very little about. The costumes, the manner of gestures and body language, little details which he observed and tried to mimic and understand. Some things he knew, others leave him a little bit confused like the first time shaking hands with someone as a form of greeting. He was used to a nod or a kind of salutation some of his kin used regularly. Neither of them involved skin contact and that for a _very_ good reason.

In that moment numerous ideas and dozen possibilities had sprouted in his mind about how he could use that simple gesture to take advantage of a person like pulling that person close and stabbing him or her a couple of times. He rubbed his eyes with a chuckle. Old habits really died hard, and even more so when some humans indirectly asked for it.

Like his precious little Leader. Nero was a kid with a hair-trigger temper, but he was very responsible in terms of duty, Claus on the other hand...Hiro didn't really know if he was just so absentminded or if it was plain stupidity or maybe even both. His memory wasn't the best, he neglected his duties when it came to unpleasant paperwork, even shoving it off on Nero, he missed meetings, overslept, broke into other rooms, seemingly was having trouble with money and was always somehow incredibly irresponsible.

Somehow Hiro slowly suspected that the contract he had with this vixen was not directly helping him to become a good Leader, but preventing his hand from "accidently" slipping and his gunfire riddling his beloved Leader with bullet holes. On the other hand, he shouldn't care less what this human did, annoying as he was.

He couldn't deny that Claus had at least a few traits he could work on like being a honest, unquestionably nice, strong and sometimes even charismatic person, maybe even material to become a heroic figure, but those traits came hand in hand with the biggest problem he had.

He was simply _too_ kind.

If he was - as well - too naive, Hiro couldn't decide right now. Of course, he was still baffled about his habit to try to hug every person he saw as greeting or...just because he could. Even Hiro himself who had backstabbed more people in his life than there were people in this building and didn't even bother to completely conceal the fact that he was a dangerous person to be around with. Either it was a sign of utter kindness to show even a devil such a treatment or utter stupidity. Or both. When it came to such people, he couldn't really decide.

Hiro opened his eyes. "...Maybe I really died and my soul is currently in the real purgatory...or hell.", he muttered to himself. Out of all people in this rotten world, _he_ had to show a kind, nice and maybe stupid person what it takes to be a Leader. Somehow he got the feeling that his superior wouldn't be glad about the results. Not in the _slightest_.

But he was bound to the rules and it wouldn't be the first time he did such a thing. "People should be more careful what they wish for..." His eyes traced over the line of words, mind drifting off more than once. Then he heard a soft chiming. His head shot up. At first it believed that it was some memory that played a trick on him in this unfamiliar darkness.

But it repeated.

Hiro stiffened. Chimes. Slowly he stood up and a smirk crossed his features. Now that was something he was familiar with, what he had experienced before, although his rational mind knew that it wasn't the same. Sometimes...she wore chimes, the only thing indicating that something else was there than just shadows. How those simple, soft sounds made the enemy tremble and scream. He stifled a laughter. How nostalgic and utterly impossible this thought was. She wasn't here. Nobody of them was here.

He sighed and smiled. "...And now I'm getting irrational. What a hell this is..." But this already had picked his interest too much to be simply ignored. Quickly he collected the files on the desk and continued to move towards the sound. He hardly turned around the corner as something lunched at him. At first, out of instinct, he wanted shifted into a fighting stance, but his defense dropped in an instant as he heard the next word spoken to him.

"Mommy!"

He couldn't swallow a irritated "what" as a girl opened her arms and hugged him. His mouth opened and closed, unable to speak for a moment and looking down at her. Somehow she looked familiar. "Hannah found mommy..." His frown deepened. Until now he thought, the only girl in the team was one of the stable ones, but wasn't the problem right now. It was the girl snuggling her face into his chest and mistaking him for a woman. Even after his impressive and screwed up career, this was a first.

Then he heard other steps drawing near and it was the person he wanted to see at least in this situation. "...Finally...I'm really sorry that...Wait. Is that you, Chihiro?" The older male stifled a growl and sighed annoyed. "My name is Hiro.", he corrected his Leader again. "And this isn't what it looks like." "Well, well...you just let somebody hug you when that somebody is a cute girl." "Absolutely.", he replied with so much sarcasm he could muster in his voice. "A girl, by the way, who has started to drool on my shirt." "...Hehehe...Hide and seek is fun..."

Claus chuckled. "Ah...I knew I forgot to mention that Hannah has sleepwalking habits." "She is sleepwalking?" "Yeah, but I took precautions." He gently rolled up her sleeves. "See? I bound these little bells to her wrists, just in case she goes off again. And I check every night if she still is in her bed and not walking around in the middle of the night." "You could simply lock the door."

"Well..." Claus massaged his neck. "It isn't that easy..." "You broke her door, didn't you." That wasn't even a question but a statement. "...That..._could_ be. But she can open doors in her sleep...so..." Hiro sighed and suppressed his urge to roll his eyes. "What a troublesome team you have there." "Yeah...At least I have someone sane to rely on this time around." The older one just closed his eyes, smiling and trying not to remember all this instances and things that he could hold against this statement or bursting out into laughter.

"Should we bring her back?" Claus smiled and helped untangle her from his body, before he took threw her over his shoulder. Hiro chuckled. "She is a heavy sleeper, isn't she?" "Heavy? Yeah, you could set off a bomb right next to her and she wouldn't even register it." He turned his head to him. "Why were you awake at this hour?" "Thinking." "About what?" He smirked. "Various things.

"I'm the Leader, you know. You can tell me if something is bothering you." "It isn't exactly something bothering me...I was just thinking about taking some time off." Claus stopped in his tracks, looking at him surprised. "Is something wrong?" "Ah nothing actually...just wanting to meet someone I know." His leader started to walk again. "Someone of your past?" "Yeah, but don't worry, I'm not about to jump right into the next helicopter and leave you alone. I still... didn't make a decision on that matter."

Go or stay. He didn't know in what state they were in, nor what happened if they saw him or how the humans would react to that. The feeling of not being able to reach out for them in this very moment, to contact and just speak to them, to something he knew gave him a certain kind of longing for attention.

People may speak of him what they wanted, hate him, despise him but at least they knew him. Now he was just a stranger in the crowd. A man who played the part of an amnesiac not knowing where he belonged when in reality he knew exactly that this wasn't the world he belonged to, but was rather forced to live in.

But then again, he was used to build things from scratch and couldn't deny the challenge.

"Are you afraid that that person will tell you something that you don't want to know?" "Not exactly. Let's say, she harbors a slight feeling of...hatred against me." Interested Claus' left eyebrow slowly wandered up. "Is she your ex-girlfriend or something like that?" This time, the older male just had to laugh at this assumption. "No, we just share a rough past...And I can't remember if we reconciled..."

"Hey, better late than never. Maybe she will be glad to see you still alive and kickin'." Hiro just smiled at this optimistic display. He doubted she would be happy nor even really angry or expressed any feeling at seeing him. His kin was not known for being emotional, if they could feel anything at all.

Hiro held the door to Hannah's room open and signed him to go inside with the girl. Carefully his Leader dropped her onto the bed and sighed heavily, stretching his back. "God...she gets heavier." Hiro eyed him for a moment, observing him and his movements. Although he was not really suitable for a leader now, he did care for his subordinates, learning the quirks and acted according to them. It was a start, but not nearly enough to work on. He had a contract to keep after all and every friendly banter beside, he would do what had to be done.

And the earlier he began with his "training" the better.

As they walked out, Hiro searched his gaze, a smirk still plastered on his face. "Leader...may I ask you a question?" "Uh...yeah? What is it?" "Why did you become a leader?" Irritated, he blinked. "What?" "Why are you a leader?", Hiro repeated. "Like I can see, this isn't an easy job. Not with those kinds of subordinates..." With that, an intensive angry glare was directed to him, much to his amusement. "Hey, don't speak about them in that tone. They are good, talented and nice people and even better God Eaters."

"Trust me. I know that, Leader. Excuse my dismissive wording." He chuckled. "...You don't have to answer my question yet. I want you to think carefully about it." Suddenly Claus' expression changed from his usual soft and good natured in a more...stern one. "I don't think there is a reason for being one." "Oh?" It was an answer he didn't expect. Not from this person.

His smile widened. "I see... I apologize for my curiosity." In his mind he already noted that he would demand more information about him from that woman and carefully planning ahead of how to deal with him. His eyes glowed faintly. Maybe this could be more interesting than just another nuisance he had to deal with. "...I'm looking forward to work with you." He muttered under his breath.

Maybe his leader wasn't so stupid after all. He remembered back to their conversation just a day before. The mention of his family, his "normal" life made this young man squirm. There was no guarantee that he would succeed, nor did he really care. He said he would try, nobody said he had to actually make him a true leader. Some people succeed, some don't. Even the most talent people could break in a blink of an eye or in an unlucky situation. There was never a guarantee for things to go smooth and right.

A short grimace moved over his face and an uncomfortable feeling moved over his skin, sneaking over his neck. He unconsciously touched his covered throat. It itched so terribly. "H-hey, Hiro?" The voice startled him. "Are you...alright?" "Ah, just remembered something." He smiled. "As you said, memories aren't always pleasant." "Maybe you shouldn't go to that person. It won't do you any good."

He chuckled, barely stifling a laugh. "Our brave, heroic leader who charges into battle tells me that I should run away?" Hiro shook his head, grinning from one ear to the other. "How can I run away from something that is me? It's like running away from your shadow. It will be always there, it will always follow me, if I remember it or don't." Claus had again this strange look in his eyes, so he continued, feeding this strange emotion his leader displayed, beckoning it to stay a little bit longer.

"I would rather know my shadow than dying without even acknowledging that I have one."

He smiled softly, interlacing his hands behind his back, stepping closer to him. "Whatever your shadow is, dear Leader, I would advise you to look at it once in a while. Sometimes they bite." The young man chuckled. "I'm not really scared of the dark. So, try something else to give me the creeps, Hiro. I'm not a little kid." His movements were nervous and on edge although his face showed no sign of it.

Bemused the older one chuckled, then putting up a facade of fake innocence, shrugging his shoulders. "At least, I can try." "You have a strange sense of humor." "The kid told me that already the other day...Hmmm...Suddenly it makes sense that I can't remember a single person laughing at my jokes. Ah, well, can't be a perfect person, can I?"

He made a mocking bow, before he turned around. "Have a good night."

Hiro could hardly contain another chuckle. After all that happened in the past weeks he actually _had_ forgotten something. Not his past, nor his kin, but one simple fact.

Those people were still human with all their faults and facets.

His heart skipped a beat as he walked down the hallway. Even when this wasn't not the place he was used to, behind their facade of naiveté and niceness, they were still all they same, hiding their despicable shadows beneath that glimmer in their eyes.

And he couldn't wait to dance with them.

* * *

It's funny how similar and completely different Lucifer and Mammon are, in behavior, motives and god knows what. He is some sort the one who does things and says just because it amuses him. (Somehow reminds me of a big child...A big creepy child.) Other character interpretation...eh...I leave it open for now. (due to story reasons)

Before I forget, you can ask any question about any character or anything anytime you want. I don't bite and am open for suggestions.

Until next time.


	5. Team Speak

So another chapter...I will keep introductions short, so please enjoy.

* * *

Hiro titled his head to one side and then to the other before he carefully placed the files back on the desk. "Is that everything you have of him?" The woman lifted an eyebrow, frowning. "Yes. Were you searching for something more distinctive?" He looked at her, finger tips still placed on the papers and his lips formed into a gentle smile. "Nothing in particular...Even the absence of information is information for me."

"Did something happen?" The older male shook his head slowly. "No. It is just our contract. I still have my doubts if he can be tempered into the right material for this job." "Why?" He chuckled at the sight of these eyes which began to sparkle slightly in the light of the lamps. It remembered him of a curious child that greedily consumed any source of wisdom that it came across, just to try to quench the thirst for more a little.

"...I don't think his mind is up for the task." "Are you accusing him of being stupid?" Now he laughed. "God, no. But this position puts a lot of strain on the mental stability of a person. I'm simply worried for his well being." He slowly took a few steps back, crossing his hands behind his back.

"Besides that, if I had to bet my life on somebody, I would rather go with the boy nicknamed after a crazy pyromaniac emperor than my leader. And this has nothing to do, that the first is the medic in our team." He paused. "I will ask you again. Are you sure that you want him being a leader?"

"I see no reason why not. I claim that he has the ability to..." He suddenly cut her off, slightly annoyed how this discussion seemed to go around in circles, although he didn't show any emotion other than a faint smile. "I never doubt that he has the skill. What I doubt is his conviction. If this fool goes into the field with the notion of being a hero and saving everybody as a Leader, he is going to _fail_."

"I have to disagree. Such morals are suitable and wished of a leader. Someone who cares about his subject and their life." His smile widened, although faked his calm composure this time. When it was one thing that he came to detest, it was this specific topic, but he had a contract and personal preference had not place to go when it came to business.

"The thought itself is not.", he finally admitted with a deep sigh."...Experience tought me to just be cautious in such cases." "What experience are we talking about?" He looked at her eyes as she titled her head which was placed on her folded hands. So that was also a part of her plans...her mocking contract. She knew that he was much more experienced than he let on, since he dropped enough hints for this assumption to keep her interested. After all, she was the only thing that offered, at least, some sort of freedom.

Now she thought, she could just lure more out of him just like that, but he wouldn't give her the pleasure, not as the curious, green eared scientist she was.

Hiro chuckled. "You _are_ aware that I am older than you." She blinked, looking at him surprised and almost disappointed at by such a simple and notably bad answer. "So what?" And she was still taking the bait. "It never hurts to listen to your senior. Here and there, at least." The woman gave of a rather unfeminine snort. "Just because you are one or two years older doesn't give you the right to speak in such a way to your _superior_." "Even when this _superior_ asked me for my advice?"

She threw him a look. Although she was playing the calm one, she got so easily offended and distracted. "I can't act just on your feeling or your so-called experience alone, you know? Give me proof that he is incapable to be one and we will talk." "Oh, every fool can become a leader, the thing is how long he is able to do it. You should know it best, Director, how such a position burdens body and mind." His gaze drifted to the files on the desk. Again a glare wandered into his direction and he sighed. "

"On the bottom line...I can't offer to succeed in making him one, but to prevent the worst when something happens." "Fine with me. If you have nothing else to report... I have more important things to do." He bowed slightly. "Of course, Director." Tension slowly left his body as he closed the door behind him.

"Did you get lectured?" It rushed right back into his muscles as his head snapped to the hallway where Nero leant against the white wall, calmly sipping a soda. Hiro rubbed the back of this neck. He wasn't really eager to deal with another short tempered human right now.

"Not exactly. She asked me if everything was alright...Extra precautions because I am a New Type." "And? Everything fine?" "Fortunately, yes." "When you are feeling ill or something like that, you should come to me first. I'm the medic, you know." "And considering our reckless Leader, you are pretty good at your job." "Nah...We are just a bunch of good fighters with a ton of luck. We just don't get seriously hurt." He took a sip from his can and smirked. "You aren't half bad either. For a rookie and an old man."

"By standards of your society I'm hardly old.", Hiro complained, still with a smile. He already knew that he wasn't exactly that young, but he didn't understand why they needed to rub this fact into his face or acting that he would drop dead because of his age. "But for a rookie God Eater you definitely are. The first stagger into this job at the age of fifteen to seventeen. Heck, I have even heard rumors that they allowed recruitment even below that age a few years ago."

"Well, I wasn't that eager to become fresh meat to those Aragami at your age. I had other things to deal with." "Like what?" Hiro shrugged his shoulders, inwardly reminding himself that he was supposed to be partly amnesiac.

"...Although I can't really remember why, I can remember that I jumped from job to job as I liked, earning food here and there, but never really much." "Wow that...sounds like you didn't really have a goal in life." Hiro looked at him for a second, before he laughed. "Says the kid who volunteered to play to be a poisonous snack for gods instead of staying with his family and learning a job that doesn't involve homicidal creatures."

"First I'm not a kid, I'm sixteen. Second, I'm from a long line of soldiers, so I'm doing more or less family business. Fighting lies in my blood, so to speak." "...I will remember that. Besides...Is there a reason why you waited for me?" "Who says that I'm waiting for you?" Slowly one of the man's eyebrows rose and this smile turned into a knowing smirk. "Oh really? You just decided to drink a can of soda on the floor of the Director for no good reason? Although your room is on the other side of this very building?"

Nero's hand flexed and almost crushed the metal can as the blood rushed into his cheeks. "H-How do you know?!" The location of his room was a big secret within their own team. The boy got fed up with his leader breaking and destroying his door, so he had it transferred into another side building and tried to erase every trace which would lead somebody to it. Unfortunately, he forgot it was still registered in the more...non public debts of the data bank.

Hiro didn't really research this particular matter, because he had better things to do than to stalk this fellow team comrades. He just coincidently stumbled over it after he had gotten bored and decided to poke around with the local security system just for his personal amusement.

Amused by that reaction, the older one chuckled, titling his head to one side. "Oh, I have my sources and yes, I will tell our dear Leader that you need a good morning greeting. Every day." "Y- you are bluffing! You have no idea where my room is!" "Your room number is two five..." Before he could finish, the boy cut him off.

"Don't be so loud, you idiot! What if somebody hears you?" He blinked, and caring an almost mockingly innocent expression as he titled his head to the other side. "I thought I was just bluffing?" "Y-Yeah you are...but so that nobody get's the wrong idea, alright? I don't want our leader to burst into a stranger's room, you know."

The older man bit back a chuckle. "I understand, but that doesn't answer my question." "Claus wanted...that I speak to you." "So?" He sighed, rubbing his neck and avoiding his gaze. "I know that sounds dumb and I don't really know why I'm doing this, but he said something along the line that you worry him."

_So this man isn't so stupid as he plays..._

Instead of feeling caught, he actually felt relieved. He almost thought that he imagined the gaze in his eyes the other day. "...Are you...having problems to fall asleep, your lacking memories or something like that?" "If you ask me, if I can't sleep because of my memories, then no. I am just a light sleeper and I'm not used to this environment."

"It would be a pain if you don't get enough sleep before a mission." "Have a little more confidence in me, boy. I'm not about to copy our reckless leader...I would never put other's life at stake because I can't catch a minute of sleep beforehand." There was a short silence, before Nero spoke again.

"I take this aren't pleasant memories? Claus said something amongst the lines." This time Hiro couldn't help but to chuckle. "...Unbelievable...This guy can't drop this topic, can he?" "What do you mean?" "He wants to discourage me to remember. Saying it wouldn't be good for me. God, I can't believe I'm following a guy who is afraid of his own shadow." His tone was lanced with faked annoyance. In fact, that made this other boy quite interesting for him, but he was curious about Nero's opinion as well.

"Slow down, old man. He is just worried and I can't blame him. The most of your free time you lock yourself away and brooding over...things."

_Brooding as in finding a way to...hack into our security systems..._

Hiro sighed, his shoulders slumped down, playing the defeated one. "I know. I know, but you have to understand me...I woke up in a place I didn't know, around people I don't recognize and now I'm a soldier who fights against things which could easily kill me, just because I had no other way to go. I just want to remember who I am, or rather what I was."

"And if you don't like it?" Hiro smirked. "To express it in more crude words...To hell with that. I might get eaten by an Aragami tomorrow, so what if I was a bad person before?" First Nero frowned, but then mirrored his smirk. "Well...that is one way to think." Then he crushed the can in his hands. "But don't get eaten so early on. The Director might kill us, when we lose her only New Type."

"Hey, guys!" Claus sprinted out of the hallway and got hold of both of their arms to drag both dumbfounded persons towards the elevator. "What the fuck, Claus?" "We have a job to do! It's an emergency!" Both exchanged confused looks. "...Really now. Stop staring and keep moving!" "Now I'm curious what you understand under emergency.", Hiro mumbled under his breath. "Did you say something?" "You are hearing things, Leader."

* * *

"...Well...I'm sure this can count as one." The older male lowered his binoculars and handed it to Hannah who immediately gasped. "That...thing is huge!" "No shit.", Nero commented drily. "Those fucking Jormungandrs get bigger and bigger every time." They watched how the snakelike creature moved through the ruins, digging a deep path in the sandy ground and still gnawing on a smaller Aragami. The greenish blue scales glittered slightly in the sun as it exposed two or possibly more rows of yellowy fangs, tainted with black blood and a greenish mixture. It moved up and roared, its serpentine eyes wide open and still hungry, before it dug itself face first in the ground.

Hiro rubbed his neck. When this creature got hold of his arm, his whole upper torso might be gone with it as well, not to mention that this thing seemed to be toxic. "I don't want to spoil the fun, but I think a plan..." As his glance drifted besides him, he only could sigh.

They were already gone.

"...Oh well." He picked up his God Arc and jumped off the building they were standing on. Then he activated his communicator, just in case, someone was stupid enough to get too close to that thing which they most possibly were. Personal feelings aside, they were still a _team_ which meant he could not just watch them stumble into their doom and get killed. His superior wouldn't be pleased with him if he did that and he really liked the status quo at the moment. A bed, a room, he was a free man and _the food_.

He would bear to have comrades like this for such luxury and maybe he would get even more if he played his cards right. After a quick glance, he already knew where they went if the corpses of Aragami to his left and right were any indication. Nero was right with one thing: They were by no means weak and they most certainly knew how to kill Aragami efficiently.

And stealing him his own prey along with it.

In secret, he had listed himself for other missions to satisfy his needs. He was aware that his weapon wasn't just a weapon and had a mind of its own and a hunger that was almost bottomless. Besides that, he had nothing against the money they offered him for specific missions.

Quickly he climbed up the next building to get a better overview of the situation and to just witness how his brave Leader jumped right into the creature's face, starling it and everybody around him. Hiro just pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed it in small circles as he closed his eyes. Excellent fighter, yes. Using strange methods, completely fine. But jumping straight into the face of a beast? He could almost see how his guardian angel just got a heart attack somewhere.

He loaded his gun with bullets and shifted his stance. He slowed down his breathing pattern and focused on his target. The snake was shaking it's head violently, snapping at its attackers as they slashed at it, but for him, just a moment, everything began to move slower.

And his hand didn't hesitate to pull the trigger as soon as his target was in sight.

The bullet exploded near the eye of the Aragami and the shockwave sent the head against a building. It screamed as it crashed into it. "Stop staring, start killing." he mumbled over the communication device as the gazes of his teammates was directed on him.

Hiro could see the growing smile on his leader's face as they went on it again. He reloaded the bullet, waited for a moment and shot again. They jumped the fallen Aragami like a pack of hungry wolves. The man chuckled. Despite the vixen, this annoying bunch of kid, this strange new surroundings and language, this scene felt almost oh so familiar. His smirk grew wider and bewildered as his hand curled around the trigger once more.

The creature in his blade grew excited. Finally a prey, a meal. He switched into blade form, jumping over the edge and right at the creature failing to get up. It only took minutes before it finally stopped moving and the black forms of their Arcs buried their fangs into its scaly flesh.

"Core extracted!" Hannah exclaimed happily while she lowered her buster blade which was most definitely far too big for her. "No serious injuries?" Their leader looked in the round, before his gaze stayed on the oldest man who returned a confused frown. "Do I look injured to you?" "N-No. Not at all." Hiro sighed, but nethertheless smiled. "No, I'm not having an unpleasant memory flashback right now and I am not becoming a sobbing mess. Thanks for the unasked question about the well being of my mind."

"Are you sure?" "Don't force me to test my bullets on you, leader." This seemed to peak Nero's interest. "Right...What did you change? That was a rather huge explosion." "I tempered with the black powder ratio and the bullet shell a little bit, but not much. It just causes a greater shockwave on impact, to startle Aragami." Hiro sighed. "Unfortunately, they seem to be more useful for retreat and distraction strategies than actual combat, since they don't deal much damage...but if I change it with some of the new materials I could produce an area effect with..."

He stopped in his explanation as they just stared at him. "...When I'm rambling too much, please tell." "Wow...you are pretty smart for a rookie too.", Nero commented with a frown. "Thanks, I'm amnesiac, but not stupid. I just like to prepare and not charge into something I don't know. I have read a lot about God Eater technologies lately." Claus rubbed his chin. "That would explain the piles of books inside your room lately."

Hiro just looked at him. "You broke into my room again, didn't you? _Leader_?"

"It wasn't my fault! I just knocked and the door...somehow...broke." The medic sighed. "You understand now why I moved my room?" "Just like I said, it wasn't my fault!" Suddenly Hannah pulled on Hiro's sleeve. "Can you show me some of the bullet recipes, Hiro-kun?" The heads of the other two snapped into his direction. "Hiro-kun?", Claus inquired.

"No, you aren't allowed to call me that. When it's Hannah, I will let it pass." "That's just because she is a girl, you womanizer." "I'm not interested in woman, if it is that what you mean." Claus blinked and then gasped. "Don't tell me, you are...I mean, I have no problem if you are. That's totally okay. I just..." Then Nero decided to hit his own leader over the head. "Oww...Nero, why..." "You deserved it."

Hiro on the other hand hadn't much of a problem with it. Truth to be told, he was confused for a moment what they actually meant, before he declared, "Just to clarify, I don't take any sexual interest in anybody at the moment." He never took such relationships into consideration since he didn't see the use of them. In his eyes they were just a waste of time.

He sighed deeply. "I have other things to worry about than that." "Yeah, I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said this out loud. I mean..." Claus fumbled with his words and then helplessly opened his arms.

"Forgive me-Hug?"

Nero facepalmed himself as the older male just rubbed his right temple. Fighter, yes. Suicidal, maybe. A lot of work? Yes, definitely. He felt torn between his interest about his leader's shadow and...calling off the whole contract, because he felt the growing urge to just leave him behind in an Aragami infested den.

**_"No."_**

"Come on...You are being mean!"

"I know.

* * *

A little bit team bounding can never hurt. For people who have read the other story Loss of Faith, you might have noticed that Lucifer hasn't as much scenes like that. Hiro/Mammon is not relucant to talk (mess) with people unlike Lucifer (but don't worry, she might get better.)

Next chapter: A new addition

Until next time,

Nocturnal Hunter


	6. The Other Half

Okay, after I have neglected Mammon for so long, I thought, I will update his story this time. Besides that, I apologize that it's a little late and I will better up the other chapter of Loss of Faith. Correcting some mistakes, rewrite the scenes a little (so that they won't be so corny. xD), so nothing major in plot change.

* * *

Hiro flipped through the old notebook, reading some parts, skipping through various notes and signs and musing if he should copy the contents in a new one to preserve the information which was still within. Books like that tend to fall apart quite quickly, especially after he had the habit of carrying it around all the time.

"We are landing in forty minutes." His head snapped up, almost hitting the curved metal wall behind him. "Ah...thank you for the information..." The pilot at the front seat nodded slightly and it was silent again, besides the rumbles of the machine.

"And thank you for bringing me along.", Hiro could see how the pilot smirked and rubbed his neck with his free hand. "Nah, don't fret over it. You guys do much...I mean protecting the city and all, so I have nothing against doing a little favor once in a while."

"You do know that bringing me on the other side of this planet, was hardly a little favor." "It's not like the plane is completely empty. Besides without company the flight tends to get quite boring." The God Eater chuckled, looking at the other man who slumbered on the other seat, hands crossed before his chest and snoring quietly. "What about your co-pilot?" "That guy just sleeps like a rock all day when he isn't needed. Good and skilled when things get excited, but if nothing happens...he is like that."

"Besides, I am not visiting the Eastern Branch on official business." "Just visiting a lady friend, right?" Hiro laughed quietly to himself. She would probably maul this guy for even daring to speak such an idea out loud. "An acquaintance.", he corrected, making the pilot chuckle. "Yeah, yeah, aren't they all?"

Hiro just decided to not explain his situation, already fearing that he might set off another avalanche of rumors involving him and the topic relationships. After the incident last week and the ability of his leader never being able to keep his mouth shut, the whole building had started to question his sexual preference.

At first, it was something he could easily ignore and at some point it amused him why those humans made such a deal about this.

Now it reached a level which started to pick on his nerves.

He wasn't a stranger to such relationships, but it never involved romance or a lasting partnership. It never gave him an all around satisfaction, nor did he see the use of such a thing other than blowing off some steam or to get what he wanted. More the latter than the first, since a person could become quite vulnerable in this state...

At least, he tried to explain, but those people were more dense than he had imagined, even more after he mentioned that the person he wanted to visit was a woman.

_Good riddance..._

Suddenly he remembered why he used to stay away from humans. They tended to give him a headache. "Especially with my group." He sighed heavily. "My leader wasn't really keen on hearing that I would leave...I will never hear the end of this, will I?" "Ah, this teary eyed guy was your leader?" "Yes, the grown man who tried to tackle me to the ground and then hugged my legs while looking like a kicked puppy is my most respected, annoying and overly friendly superior."

"...My deepest condolences."

"Well, beggars can't be choosers. I should be glad that they have taken me in anyways." "That's for sure. Not every day that they invite a lunatic joining the Branch."

Hiro still smiled and threw the pilot a specific downright deadly look which made him chuckle nervously. "They weren't kidding when I heard you could be downright scary. Please, kill me _after_ we have made a save landing, alright?"

"Don't worry, I don't go around killing people. And besides that, I'm not that stupid to kill the pilot although I don't know how to operate a helicopter." "Good to know. I wasn't so sure about your mental health after that thing with fighting an aragami without a God Arc." Hiro rose an eyebrow and waited for him to explain. "Right...I didn't mention that I was the pilot who was involved with the incident."

"Ah...so your vehicle was in jeopardy as I decided to just screw the aragami over." "Which was by distracting it...With a stick." Hiro shrugged his shoulders. "It worked." "Yeah, it sure was pissed off after that." "Could be." "It tired to bite your head off." "I consider that as a friendly greeting by aragami standards."

"Alright, come again...How can you be sane?" "Never said I'm sane." The pilot laughed at his dry remark. "Hell, that's reassuring, but let me tell you, we are in the same boat, you know?" The man paused, pushed some buttons and sighed.

"I was a mercenary once." Hiro's muscles stiffened at the word. "Is that so?" "Yeah, did all kind of crazy stuff. What should I say? I have a child to take care off and I'm not really useful for things other than fighting and piloting. The money was good, but I had to draw the line somewhere."

"Are you sure it is wise to tell around that you were a mercenary? I mean, people have a certain...view about them and not a positive one at that." "I don't really care and didn't as I was a mercenary. This is part of the job description and I'm not ashamed of what I did."

There was a pause. "My name is Leonhardt Camilleri. Leon or Leo for short. Whatever suits your taste." "Good to know." "I hope I won't find the bloody head of a dead horse in my bed tomorrow after telling you that." Hiro frowned and looked at him. First he wanted to ask, what a "horse" was, but then he decided to question how he got that idea. "Do people do that often around here?"

Leon laughed. "I hope not. I like animals and it would be a waste." "Besides, bloodstains are quite a nuisance when it comes to white sheets." "God, don't remind me of that.", the pilot snorted and both chuckled. Hiro gazed at the man in front of him.

This human was amusing and his taste in dark humor was certainly refreshing, so, former mercenary or not, he would leave him be for while, although just the word of this profession made his throat dry and his hands twitch in response.

Mercenaries were people who usually were very prone to becoming greedy and his profession, his life was made to be the one who punished those who had committed this kind of sin. He didn't feel resentment or hate for what other mercenaries did to him and his kind, but more, it felt like he was presented with something to eat after having starved for weeks.

Unfortunately, this human managed to bemuse him and with that, he was unwilling to tumble into the temptation of slowly destroying him in various ways which his sick mind could imagine.

And this made it more enjoyable in a twisted sense for him. The one who normally held him back, wasn't there, so he had to compose himself, but he liked challenges.

The machine started to lower itself gently and the building of the Eastern Branch came in sight. Leonhardt suddenly kicked the foot of his slumbering co-pilot, causing him to finally stir. "Hey, sleepy head, do your work!" His demand was answered by a mumble and another snore sound, but nothing more.

The former mercenary growled. "Ah, fuck it. It's not like I would need you for that." Hiro frowned. "Are you sure? I don't want to crash land on my first visit." "I'm a very good pilot. They wouldn't have taken me in otherwise." "I do have to remind you that you crash landed when I had to save your hide?" "That wasn't my fault."

"Very convincing."

"Hey, I can still kick you out."

Hiro just sighed deeply, not bothering to respond as his eyes trailed over the large building in front of him with the eyes of the wolf staring back at him.

The beast who devoured gods and aided fate to bring Ragnarok upon the living.

His head titled to the side, the corners of his mouth slightly curling upwards. It would be interesting if this branch would do its name justice. What information he had collected over his stay, was nothing he didn't expect: "conveniently" missing files like report about test subjects.

It was a facility which researched humans and aragami and experimented on both. Things and accidents were bound to happen, as well as trying to make them disappear. If this matter was morally justifiable wasn't a debate he was interested in, but more the value and the threat this information could be for someone else.

His hand clawed itself into the backrest of the pilot's seat as the wheels hit the ground and abruptly slowed the machine down. Leonhardt sighed relieved as it finally stopped, checking the console and then turned back his head to him.

"You have three hours...maybe four. Then we have to go back."

"That short?" "Yeah, we are just here to deliver some cores and other wares. Don't worry, this guy here..." He pointed at the man still sleeping in his seat. "And another one will take over my shift, so I'm not going to fly back. Just resting in the back and try to catch some sleep."

Hiro nodded before he turned around. "Fine then, I will be punctual then. Although I don't really want to go back to this annoying person anymore." "Ah, you know that they can track you down, don't ya? Running isn't really an option."

"I'm not the type who likes to run, anyway." "Good to know." He gave him a nod and the God Eater jumped out of the aircraft, easily dodging by the people who came to collect the cargo and walked to the elevator which was, much to his delight, not empty. At least, it was a person he heard so much about.

The young hooded man glanced shortly at him, his blue eyes trailing over him and then rested a few seconds on his face. His smirk widened a little bit. "Ah, can you help me? I'm searching for the first Unit leader. Do you know her?" He was silent at first and narrowed his eyes.

Distrust.

Seemed like Lucifer had her fun with him. He could hardly hold it against her, considering who this human was and what he was known for being. Even Hiro would consider him and his fame as a taunt and conformation that these people had no idea what they were talking about.

Grim Reaper, Death God,...

As fancy as those nicknames were, he most likely didn't anything to deserve them. HIro on the other hand, devoted his very life for his name and reputation. That the comrades of this human were just unlucky or incapable in battle, earned him such a name was an downright insult to what he had to do to earn his.

"Who are you?"

"I'm an old friend and a fellow God Eater. I want to pay her a little visit. For old time's sake." Judging his face, he didn't buy this answer one little bit. Hiro sighed deeply.

He wasn't even _lying_ for once.

"As friendly as the rumors say.", he chuckled. "Now...that isn't a problem, I will find her myself." The doors opened leading to the main hall and he decided to exit.

"...Again leader and now she ended up with a Death God. Sometimes I'm close to pity her." Now he caught this man's attention, making him laugh quietly to himself as he glance out of the corner of his eyes back to the hooded man. His lips curling up into a sly smirk as that human's expression twisted into an irritated scowl, just before the doors closed.

* * *

It didn't look long to find her. If she wasn't on mission, she would probably train. She was always like that. Restless and always running towards something. Either a goal, a prey or her own doom. He heard the chains of the sandbag rattling and his head turned to the tiny figure in front of it.

At least she didn't seem to forget to eat. She wasn't as thin as he remembered and she looked healthy, even though her skin tone looked a little bit sickly pale. Her shoulder long dark blue hair were in slight disarray, a little bit longer than when he last saw her. Normally she always tended to keep her hair short, to better pass off as a man or as she would state "because long hair could be a nuisance in battle".

Those were valid points, he would admit, but he could barely bear a chuckle. The uniform she wore was a little bit too big, but not enough to conceal that she was female. She used to wear wider clothes, concealing her curves with everything possible and she still was desperate to not show what was concealed under these clothes.

Asmo often told her that she had nothing to be ashamed about and more often than not, it ended with that person's head crashing against the nearest wall. If he could see her now, he would most likely approve of her showing a little bit more than usual, forced or not.

Hiro drew closer, slowly and silently. Just he was right behind her, she swiftly turned around, her leg swinging his way. Out of reflex her lifted his arm to block. As she hit him a shiver of pain moved up and down his spine. He grinned.

She was still holding back.

Her eyes weren't even focused on him and as they did, they didn't even seem surprised. "Ambitious as always, I see." She just continued to look at him. "Surprise...You haven't thought to see me again, haven't you?" "...You...how?", she choked out.

Her words betrayed what she tried to conceal. She was caught a little bit off guard, but she still decided to lower her leg and let him talk for once, although she knew that his visit was probably the first sign of an incoming disaster. She crossed her arms before her chest.

"Ah...just got a weekend off...and thought I will pay you a visit." His smirk asked if his surprise visit was a success. "Not really...You were always tough to kill." The woman paused. "What is your name this time?"

"It was a tough fight between Koji and Hiro. I picked the latter. Short meaningful, a general nice name I think. Your opinion?" Her glance told him that he shouldn't overstay her patience which caused him to frown slightly. That was unusual. Normally he was the impatient one.

"Like I would care. What do you want here?" "Ah, where is this oh-I-am-glad-that-you-are-alive-hug?" He opened his arms and began to chuckle as she grew even more irritated, after all, he of all people should know why she didn't engage in human body contact anymore. "Hey, that was something these people taught me...Those cute little fools."

The conversation turned to something he used to. He would complain about humans and she would just ignore him. At least until he called her leader. That barely notable flinch was enough for him to know how she thought about it although she tried to play it off.

"Hey, how many are still alive?" Hiro grinned. As usual, Lucifer would always inquire where the others were, maybe she was feeling a little bit lost in this environment without him. "A few..." "Any from us?" Not everyone had survived and he told her that, watching the green flicker in her eyes as he mentioned how he saw one of them get shot in the head.

He was slowly probing around, observing her body language, the way she spoke. She didn't appear softer in any way, but there was some tiredness settling in her eyes. Monsters, devil or not, they weren't completely insane, clenching on a little piece of sanity to prevent them going berserk, because their instinct of survival and their remaining human side of just wanting to let it end were at odds and battling for control.

But how much this shard of sanity could bear, he didn't know. Sometimes just the death of a person, sometimes it never happened, because they died before that, sometimes it takes years, sometimes it took weeks.

In the end, losing their purpose, failing to fulfill the things they were meant for was a huge blow which would sent some of them over the edge. The only advantage of something like that happening was that the mind was slow to realize that their purpose was gone.

If it was kind that the downward spiral of insanity was slowed down and their life prolonged, he didn't know. He didn't know what kindness was or pity for the matter. That was why he still needed her and the reason why he took interest in her in the first place.

A challenger, an equal, an opposite.

He didn't have to face the danger of dropping into insanity since he never was thought that was a human in the first place. An emotionless beast with an intelligent mind and the will to adapt and learn.

It was his greatest strength and weakness.

His patience for meddling with his prey was thin and could snap quiet easily. She on the other hand, had the ability to emotionally understand and use feelings against humans, even when she had this ability largely shut off to protect her sanity.

She was more willing to negotiate, seeing no reason to harm anyone who wasn't involved while he was more willing to kill on sight because the person was at the wrong time at the wrong place. On the other hand, he had no problem with messing and playing with his prey, while she liked it more often to get over it quickly.

At the moment he could manage, since he learnt from her how to behave, but he knew it was a mistake to deny that he would snap sooner or later. He was greedy, but he was not a fool. This wasn't the place he grew up. He couldn't hide or run and to preserve his life he needed her to stay alive until he found a suitable candidate for her place.

"Who is your prey?" He would let her have it, just this time although he took interest in it too, maybe helping her to get it down a little bit. The longer she was occupied, the longer he could draw out her fall. Maybe he found a way to go around their sickness.

Suddenly she held out a hand towards him. There was some hesitance in this guesture as she did so. What was she planning? He took the offer and their skin touched.

His vision drenched itself white. He saw a room and a man sat of him, his hands folded at the table before him. He could feel the chains around his wrists and the lingering pain of bruises. Hiro looked down, seeing the sheet of paper.

An agreement. The man in dressing in a white coat, smirked.

The scene shifted, words filled inside his head. Someone died, someone was set up, secrets all over the place and one word he heard was more apparent than the others.

"Aegis Project."

Then suddenly the scene tumbled back to a place he knew. Fire scorching his skin, dead bodies around him. The knife in his hands bloody. There was a body of a child near him on the ground, drenching the dirt red. He felt how a smile worked itself up on his lips.

It ended.

The next moment, he saw her standing in front of him again. Hand drawn back, breaking their connection. Her memories, her side of things.

He forced a smile.

New Types were capable to share feelings and memories.

That was just...incredibly and utterly inconvenient.

He felt something linger in the back of his mind, something that responded to it, but he forced it back. This time he would just warn her to not go too far and would her leave her this once. He would keep his eye on her, intervene when it was necessary, but she was capable to pull it off alone.

* * *

He returned to his Branch, quiet and thinking about what to do and how to handle this situation carefully. His train of thought was violently derailed as his leader tried to tackle him with a hug. Hiro dodged quickly, making the other hit the wall behind him.

"...Is...he alright?" A woman voice which he couldn't place called his attention. She stood a few feet away from him, curled red long hair, thin figure and a head smaller than him. Her head titled to the side, her hazel brown eyes looking at the man who slowly slid to the ground.

"...You are new.", he noted. "Oh, yeah. Just got introduced to the team I got assigned to." "Let me guess...It's his unit?" "Yeah...it is. He is pretty friendly...and first I thought he was a pervert and slapped him." "Ah." In this kind of situation even the thought of this human getting hurt, wasn't amusing anymore.

"Get used to it. He doesn't learn." She looked at the groaning man who was her superior from now on. "And...you are Hiro, I guess?" "My accent did betray me, didn't it?", he chuckled "Uhm...no it's not that bad, but...uh...By the way, my name is Nina, the new New Type God Eater. Please take care of me." She offered a hand of greeting and he eyed it with suspicion.

That was something he didn't need right now.

"...I'm going to my room. Get me if there is a mission." She frowned. "What about him?" "Just leave him here." "...I think I have broken my nose. I think I need to go to the sick bay.", Claus muttered, teary eyed, holding his bleeding nose. "You have the ability of regeneration, you fool, so stop whining about it."

"But...", he still winced, looking at him like a kicked puppy. It just tempted him to kick it again. The smile on his face became strained. "Nina, he is in your care. I don't have the nerve for this right now." "Did your meeting go a little bit sore?"

"I don't think my private life is of your concern. It went fine. Just tired, that's all." He then turned around and walked away.

* * *

A little lighthearted, a little black humor, a little drama and a little more explanation. xD I know it's a little bit short and for those who noticed, yes it is the same scene as in the "Old Friend" chapter in Loss of Faith, just from his perspective.

I hope you enjoyed it.

Until next time,

TheNocturnalHunter.


	7. A Bored Demon

Nina was an interesting addition. Skilled, quick witted and always smiling she was quickly accepted in the group. Hiro stayed away from her as far as he could. Her bright nature made him sick to the stomach, even more that he wasn't allowed to break it. A steak taunting a hungry wolf – She wasn't nothing more from his perspective – A walking, talking temptation which played with his nerves.

But she didn't seem to notice his repulsion towards her, walking always around him, trying to chat, following him around like a lost puppy. Additionally, his leader was quite infiltrated with her and he could feel the slight jealousy radiating off him every time she spoke to Hiro and not to him.

"Are you going on a mission again?" Nina leant over the corner and smiling brightly. His eyes trailed over her shortly, forcing a smile. Being civil, he told himself, although he wasn't in the mood. Lucifer was too occupied with her contract right now and that she was stationed on the other side of the earth didn't help either. Her presence always had been the most tolerable out of everybody around. Sturdy, tough and with enough wit and sharp-tongued to stand against him. But what he valued most, was the underlined understanding she had of him. They didn't need to speak to communicate and he didn't need to explain every little thing.

"Yes." He answered. "But just an ordinary scouting mission. Nothing for an avid fighter like you are."

"Awww, you flatterer." She chuckled and when she shortly turned her head away, he grimaced. This wasn't meant as a compliment. Yes, she was a good God Eater, but no, her headless, selfless heroic acts were not appreciated nor did he tolerate them. They were annoying at best, life-threating at worst. The most troubling thing was that she was actually worse as his superior in these matters.

"Maybe you should talk to our leader. He has probably something for you." He noted, hoping that she would leave him in peace with his coffee.

Nina pouted like a little child and crossed her arms before her chest.

"But he just gives me the easy ones."

"Because he is…What's the word? A worrywart? He cares for you."

"Really?" Hiro almost bit his tongue at her innocent and obvious expression. _Everyone_ could see that the guy had a thing for her, even Nero who couldn't even care less about that. It was beginning to mentally hurt him. He should have stayed in the Eastern Branch. Lucifer's presence didn't give him headaches like that.

"...The same guy who hugs everybody?

"The same guy." He affirmed. "He is just overly friendly. Hmmm…Normally people like him get killed off quite quickly. So you should at least appreciate his concerns before he bites it." The man said with a smile, secretly enjoying her horrified look.

"T-That…H-How can you say that?!"

'_Oh dear, if I get money for every time someone says that to me, I would be fucking rich.'_

He whistled. "Just telling you what's on my mind. I never had a good brain to mouth filter or any for the matter."

"You must be fun at parties."

"I would rather say I put the word 'laughter' in 'slaughter' but I rather see myself as the hard wall of reality people are going to bump into once in a while." Carefully he spun the liquid in his glass, letting the ice cubes hit each other. The smell of alcohol penetrated his nose. Just one glass a day, not too much to cloud his senses but a little to make his migraine more bearable. Not that he could get drunk anyways. He had tried before just to find out that he could empty a barrel without feeling tipsy.

In the last few weeks, he noted that it was the same with eating. His body registered that he had eaten but he didn't feel filled. It might be connected to the fact he couldn't really taste anything besides if the dish was spicy, abysmal hot or cold and even then it was more an uncomfortable stinging sensation in his mouth.

He drew out a sigh.

"You know, it would be bad if you get drunk before a mission."

"I wish I could." He mumbled under his breath, downing the rest with one swing. "But the only thing I can get drunk on is adrenaline, little girl."

One of her slender eyebrows shot up and she looked slightly offended. "Little girl? I'm seventeen, mister."

"Why do you always answer with your age? I talk about mental capability."

"W-What?!"

He let her rage as he looked at the empty glass with a face of disdain. It wasn't enough. Maybe he should order another. "Why don't you go to our leader? I'm sure he can use your help with the reports before Nero really tries to fry him alive." He tried to shoo her away.

"Did you finish yours?"

"Already filed and delivered."

"I never thought you would be the responsible one either." He chuckled, denying her an answer. It was easy to work when he felt like an animal in a cage. In such moments, even tedious paperwork became a welcomed distraction for once as it took off his mind from that ever-growing hole in his stomach and restless mind. Lucifer wasn't here to calm him or put him in his place, so he had to do it on his own. And it was tedious to watch himself all the time and acting civil and not out of turn.

It was a change from the usual pace, sure, but it got boring. Besides the occasional big fanged-creature-slaying, nothing really extraordinary happened. He could mess with his team colleagues but then, he had a contract with the current director and besides been someone who liked to go around and break rules left and right, he honored his word. Business remained business and Lucifer often told him to be more patient.

He almost expected her being there, right next to him, giving him a skeptic look and a frown at his antics. Despite all, she was better with people than him and was more in tune with them. A trait he admired and abhorred. It was a two-edged blade. On the one side, she quickly wormed herself into groups, gathered their trust and was able to quickly destroy groups from the inside, on the other, her growing attachment was becoming a problem.

"...And she is on the other side of the planet. How annoying." The sentence just slipped out as if he had totally forgotten that Nina was still trying to pierce him with her stare. "Who?" His look shortly drifting to her but he said nothing. "O-Oh, is it that girl you went to visit?"

He almost snorted at that statement. 'Girl', right. Mammon had to admit that she wasn't unattractive and her attempts to hide everything turned created an almost alluring charm but he wasn't interested in something like that. What he found interesting was her intelligence, her character, and her charisma. Furthermore, her ability to be at odds with him and survive the ordeal was what it drew him to her.

"I tend to call her my 'better' half. She works as a God Eater in the Far Eastern Branch."

A frown. "So far away? Wouldn't it be better if you…well…work at the same facility?"

"We didn't get to decide on that." He paused and sighed as he looked at his fresh drink. "Whatever our dear leader told you, we are not in this kind of relationship. We just shared a lot of memories together."

"So…you are best friends or something like that?"

This time, he almost choked on the burning liquid.

"O-Oh sorry! Did I say something wrong?"

It took a few breaths before he could retort something. Friendship would be stretching it by a mile after their history of trying to backstab each other on every occasion they had gotten over time. "…Something like that. It's more like a 'Can't live and can't live without them'. To be honest, her absence worries me a little bit. She was always good in keeping me in line."

"And our leader isn't?"

Just on cue, said man ran past them, barely dodging a clipboard and yelling apologies to an infuriated Nero who was hot on his trails. "Come back and finish your report, you-good-for-nothing-superior!" Mammon sighed deeply and looked back to his fresh drink. "Not really. He is a greenhorn from every perspective. The only thing that's keeping him and you alive is your ridiculous amount of luck."

"Hey, I can fight!"

"Yeah, sure you can but fighting and slaughtering mindlessly everything around you isn't really challenging or fun. You can do that." He pointed with his glass towards the two young man who had begun to run in circles. "That guy can't. Being charismatic and friendly makes you a figurehead, but not a god damn leader. You need more than gut feeling. Intelligence and basic knowledge of strategies are important too. If he continues like that, something bad is bound to happen."

"Listen, I know he seems quite…inexperienced but there has to be a reason why he got the position."

"You want to know?" Mammon started to grin.

"Sure…?"

"He had an older brother who was an excellent God Eater and he probably has to keep up the legacy or some shit. And it seems like our superiors believe talent is inheritable, so they have high hopes for him too."

"That…has to be a lot of pressure."

"…Don't pity him. He always had the opportunity to just say no and just leave it there." He downed the second glass, letting out a satisfied sigh. "So, excuse me now. Work calls."

Later on the same day, Klaus walked up to him. "Hey…could we talk for a moment?" Mammon nodded, trying hard to hide the smile creeping up on his face. Of course, he knew where this was leading. Nina might be an annoying person but she was reliable. "Hiro, look, I have nothing against you gossiping but I would appreciate it if you don't go around talking shit about me."

Mammon frowned, playing as if he were innocent. "Come again?"

"Those things you told Nina."

"What part? That you lack basic knowledge of strategy or the thing with your brother?"

"Both. You can't just go around telling this stuff."

"Why not? It's public knowledge and to my defense, she asked. And she was the one who called you and I quote 'inexperienced'." Suddenly Klaus face grew red and Hiro wrinkled an eyebrow, at first confused. Then his brain ran through the dictionary of unfortunate implications this word had and he could hardly contain a laugh.

"S-She said what about me?"

"That you are inexperienced." Mammon repeated again and enjoyed every second of the growing humiliation in his superior's face. "Oh my, not in that way. I'm sure that you have at least some experience in that department." More blood rushed into Klaus face. "Even if not, it wouldn't be a crime. Relax."

"I-I'm not a virgin, just to make that clear!" His stuttering was sweet music to Mammon's ears. "Ah, no, that's not what I meant. I thought you were talking about your latest test score at gun-practice which were embarrassing low for a man in your position. But, lucky you, that you were able to bed someone once."

"I had a girlfriend."

"Do you want an award for that?" Mammon frowned and crossed his arms before his chest. "If you are worried about your relationship with that girl, you can calm down. She didn't mean it that way." He paused, sighing deeply. "Just for your information and my later pleasure of 'I told you', I don't think it would be preferable if you two get involved into anything romantic."

"What, why?" Klaus then cleared his throat, looking away from him. "I-I mean, I don't know what you are talking about. Like, no idea at all."

Mammon just rubbed the bridge of his nose, captured between growing frustration and a laughing fit. "…Luckily our survival doesn't depend on your ability to lie. Look, we all inside his building – inclusive our director – are betting on when you are going to confess."

"I-I'm not confessing anything here!"

"I know and that gives me a good income on the side every day." The older man smiled. "But that's beside the point. Remember that you are our leader, first and furthermost. Romantic relationships, as nice and full of rainbows they might appear, can and will screw up many, many things in your life."

"Talking out of experience?"

"You are talking with a guy who has gaping holes in his memories but I have a feeling that this might be too much for you to handle."

"You are sounding like my dad right now."

"…One joke about my age and I will talk to Nina about a few things." Mammon clicked his tongue. "You are a leader which means you can't prefer anyone inside your team but do what you like. Your attempts to woo that lady plain are pitifully adorable. Well, I wish you luck. You are going to need it. I'm sure she likes you too."

Mammon turned away, licking over his lips and walking away, missing the dejected look of his superior.

"But she likes you." He mumbled.


End file.
